The present invention relates to a device for wrapping hair with a cord, and more particularly, to a hand-held device that wraps hair with a cord as an adornment and includes a plurality of spools for carrying and dispensing cord.
Hair wrapping devices are known which wrap cords around locks of hair. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,759, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a simple, compact hair wrapper that is inexpensive to build and operate. The device includes a housing; a spindle operatively joined to the housing and defining a spindle bore for receiving cord and hair. The spindle also can have a detent for receiving the cord, The apparatus has a spool defining a spool bore through which the spindle is disposed and also the spool receives and dispenses the cord. Means for rotating the spindle relative to the housing and spool is provided such that the cord is dispensed from the spool through any detent (or cord tensions) and the spindle bore, hair is disposed in the spindle bore, and the spindle is rotated to wrap the hair with cord. The spindle is rotatably mounted within a hollow spool chamber which is partially defined by a spool cover, and the spool is disposed in the hollow spool chamber such that it is rotatable around the spindle to unwind cord as needed. The dispensing cord extends from the spool upwardly and then threaded through the spindle opening that also receives the locks of hair. Thus, the spindle and spool are all self-contained within the hollow spool chamber.
This design is constructed for placing one spool around the spindle and therefore only one spool is used at one time during a hair wrapping procedure. Many times, it is desirable to wrap more than one cord around the locks of hair since this permits multiple colored cords to be used. Accordingly, one of the deficiencies of this type of device is that only one spool can be used at one time and thus the hair wrapping patterns are limited and also because the one spool is stored underneath the spool cover, the switching of spools requires several steps to be performed.
What has heretofore not been available is a hair wrapper that is configured to carry multiple spools outside of an enclosed area to permit the user to easily selectively decide the number of cords to use and/or the colors of the cords.
An apparatus for wrapping hair with a cord is provided and includes a housing; a main spindle operatively coupled to the housing and defining a main spindle bore for receiving cord and hair; and a rotatable spool carrier. The spool carrier has a platform and a drive spindle operatively coupled to the main spindle so that rotation of the main spindle is translated into rotation of the platform. The drive spindle has guides for receiving cord and permitting the cord to be disposed through a bore extending through the drive spindle.
The apparatus further includes at least one spool releasably secured to the platform in a rotatable manner with each spool carrying cord that is fed through one guide of the drive spindle. The rotation of the main spindle causes cord to be dispensed through the one guide and the drive spindle bore and the main spindle bore, hair is disposed through the drive spindle bore and the main spindle bore, and the main spindle is rotated to wrap the hair with cord.
In another aspect, an apparatus for wrapping hair with a cord in accordance with the invention is provided and can include a hand-held housing; a main spindle operatively coupled to the housing and defining a main spindle bore for receiving cord and hair; a rotatable platform coupled to the main spindle so that rotation of the main spindle is translated into rotation of the platform; guides rotatable with the platform for receiving cord and permitting the cord to be disposed through a bore extending through the platform; and at least one spool releasably secured to the platform in a rotatable manner, each spool carrying cord that is fed through one of the guides, the rotation of the main spindle causing cord to be dispensed through a particular one of the guides and the main spindle bore, hair is disposed through the main spindle bore, and the main spindle is rotated to wrap the hair with cord as the hand-held housing is moved relative to the hair.
In a further aspect, an apparatus for wrapping hair with a cord in accordance with the invention is provided and can include a hand-held housing; a gear mesh within the housing; a main spindle operatively coupled to the housing by the gear mesh and defining a main spindle bore for receiving cord and hair; a motor having a rotating shaft that is coupled to the gear mesh for transmitting rotation of the rotating shaft to the main spindle; a switch connected to selectively activate the motor; a rotatable platform coupled to the main spindle so that rotation of the main spindle is translated into rotation of the platform; a plurality of retaining posts extending outwardly from the platform; a plurality of guides rotatable with the platform for receiving a cord and permitting the cord to be disposed through a bore extending through the platform; at least two spools releasably secured in a rotatable manner on respective ones of the plurality of retaining posts, each spool carrying the cord and having the cord receivable in one of the plurality of guides; and a plurality of biased surfaces, each biased surface being positioned to provide frictional contact against a respective one of the at least two spools while the spools are disposed on respective ones of the retaining posts and to still permit the spool to freely rotate on each respective retaining post.